


Eloquent Arrogance

by punkerbones



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-10-19 04:14:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10631970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkerbones/pseuds/punkerbones
Summary: Something requested for the wonderful marcusfeniix featuring their favorite character from Uncharted, Rafe Adler! Hope you enjoy it, dear!I do have to admit that I’ve not actually played the games, but I’ve read about them and see quite a few videos, so between those and the wiki page, I was able to write this little AU where it’s Rafe being hired for an expedition. There is a little bit of a twist at the end, though, because it is Rafe Adler, after all.





	

The restaurant was dimly lit to provide a sense of refined and almost mysterious atmosphere, but Rafe found it to be rather pretentious overall. He lazily circled his index finger around the rim of his wine glass, his expression just as nonchalant. A soft whine emanated from the action, providing an odd sort of backdrop to the classical music that wafted through the air.

Muttering something about the lackluster service of the place, and how it hardly validated the steep price that they charged their patrons, Rafe leaned back in his seat. He continued to lazily run the tip of his finger around the rim of his wine glass, smirking faintly when the crystalline cup produced a high-pitched, melodic sound. The dark crimson liquid that he had been sipping at vibrated with the faint sound, and provided some semblance of entertainment while Rafe awaited the food that he had ordered, what seemed like, ages ago.

He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he hardly registered the fact that there was someone approaching him. If anything, he simply counted it off as one of the staff bustling about to try and look busy, or, if he dared to dream, one of the staff actually bringing him his meal.

So when a man, a total stranger by all accounts, sat down at the table across from Rafe, he regarded them with a lazy frown and mildly disdainful once-over. They were well dressed, and the suit appeared to be authentic, by all accounts, which immediately caught Rafe's attention. At least it wasn't some homeless beggar trying to implore their way into a free meal. It was also enough to make Rafe sit up straight, as he wasn't about to be outdone by some random person who lacked the manners to introduce themselves before sitting down, regardless of how well dressed they may be.

"Seeing as you're not handing over my food, I trust you have a good reason for interrupting my dinner?" Rafe asked icily, still regarding the stranger with disdain.

"Forgive my lack of manners, but I-"

"You'll have to do quite a bit of explaining before that."

Taking the interruption in stride, the stranger simply nodded and slid over a business card. The company name was embossed in golden letters, with a name printed neatly below it. 'Christian Davenport'. How fancy. A pompous sounding name for a pompous looking individual.

Though he eyed the card, Rafe didn't bother picking it up, not wanting to show any sort of interest until this Mr. Davenport gave him a reason to. Instead, he continued to let his index fingertip slowly run around the rim of the wine glass and continue to play it's single, melodic note.

"And I'm to assume  _ you're _ this mister Christian Davenport?"

"You assume correctly. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Mister Adler."

"While I'll ignore the fact that you know my name when I didn't know yours, I'm not going to overlook the fact that it seems like you've purposefully sought me out," Rafe replied with a narrowed gaze.

"You're quite the popular man, Mister Adler," Christian answered with a chuckle as he leaned back in his seat a little. "It wasn't very difficult to find you. Especially since you're currently for hire, I hear."

Now  _ that _ was worth Rafe's interest, but, again, he didn't show it. He simply shrugged a slight degree and glanced away, not wanting Mr. Davenport to know that they were correct.

"That depends on what you're wanting to hire me for." Rafe shot Christian a quick, smug grin. "You've been pretty knowledgeable so far. Are you going to impress me with a job offer next?"

"I'm hoping to." Pausing for a moment, Christian reached into his coat and produced a thick envelope. He then slid it across to Rafe, pushing aside the business card that still hadn't been picked up. "If you wouldn't mind to at least review the, as you called it, job offer."

Purposefully waiting, curious to see how, if at all, Christian reacted, Rafe eyed the envelope with the same gaze that he had given the business card. He couldn't help but smirk to himself when he saw Christian squirm a little in their seat, obviously nervous that Rafe might disregard the envelope.

Finally, though, his curiosity got the better of him and Rafe reached over and plucked up the envelope. He was rather surprised to feel how full it was, and he opened it to reveal a bunch of papers that had been stapled together and then folded up so as to fit. Removing the papers, Rafe began to look over them...and he wasn't going to deny that whatever curiosity he may have had immediately grew into rapt attention.

Most of the papers were photos in various states of clarity, and all depicting a set of ruins that Rafe was very familiar with. It was almost a frustrating familiarity, given that he had studied them tirelessly, but never been able to locate them. He had all the means in which to get to them, but the exact location of the ruins had eluded him.

...until now, it seemed.

"Well, this is a surprise," he commented, glancing up at Christian and smirking to himself again when he saw the man obviously perk up. “I haven’t seen photos of these ruins in more time than I care to recount.”

"So you  _ are _ familiar with the ruins."

"Everybody in my line of work is," Rafe replied, continuing to look over the photos and feeling an undeniable sense of excitement growing. "At least, everybody in my line of work that's worth anything."

"Hence why I've sought you out," Christian said with a chuckle as he motioned to Rafe. "I figured that I might as well come to the best if I want the best."

Though he didn't say anything in response, Rafe did at least make a short laugh and grin at being called the 'best'. Conceited or not, it was always nice to be recognized for how good one actually was. He then looked back up at Christian, wordlessly advising them to go on.

"I'll get straight to the point, Mister Adler," Christian continued, picking up on the cue. "I'm wanting someone to investigate and explore these ruins. I've hired a few men before you, but between lack of quality and laughable superstitions, they've hardly made any headway. To be quite honest, I'm tired of throwing money away for little to nothing to show for it. If anything, you're currently holding the most that I've got to show for the...excessive amounts of money I've spent so far."

Making a short noise of acknowledgement when Christian mentioned that they had been fruitlessly spending their money, Rafe looked over the last few photos. Mr. Davenport had most certainly saved the best for last, as the final photos showed entrances to parts of the ruins that Rafe could already tell hadn't been explored in centuries...if ever. Between that and the tantalizingly amount of clear details that the photos showed, it was taking a considerable amount of self-restraint to keep from jumping at the opportunity right then and there.

Christian didn't appear to notice Rafe's growing interest, as they continued to complain about how much money they had wasted before finally getting to the pertinent details. It was all nonsense whining at the moment. For all Rafe cared, Christian could have thrown away his entire family inheritance into trying to find good help. Rafe simply would have paid for the photos and then gone on the expedition his own.

Fortunately, that didn't seem to be necessary. At least Christian appeared to be a bit more frugal than most.

"I'm hoping that that someone I can hire will be you, Mister Adler," Christian stated. He paused for a moment to see if there would be any reaction, and when there wasn't, he continued. "I can provide you safe transport to and from the ruins, as well as any sort of equipment that you may need for the expedition. Now then, I'm sure you know that I can't necessarily guarantee your safety once you're inside the ruins, as not even I know exactly what to expect."

"Nobody does," Rafe replied with a grin, neatly tucking the photos back into their envelope, but making sure to keep the envelope near him....just in case. He wasn’t about to part with the photos now that he’d been able to look over them. "That's part of the allure, don't you think?"

"Indeed. It’s quite the thrill, as I’ve been told."

"It is. A thrill, as you said, like no other.” Rafe looked up at Christian and raised an eyebrow questioningly. “And I'm guessing you're not wanting me to just take new photos of the interior, are you?"

"You guess correctly," Christian said with a nervous chuckle. He then produced another, far thinner envelope, and handed it over, somewhat shakily, to Rafe.

Frowning a little at the fact that the man's hand trembled when he handed over the envelope, Rafe took it with a short scoff. He opened the envelope, curious to see what could cause Christian to lose their composure so quickly. Especially when they had seemed so eager to hire Rafe mere moments ago.

As he opened the envelope, noting that Christian had remained oddly quiet, Rafe unfolded the paper, another photograph, no less, but this one held far more promise than all the other photos combined.

Even though it was blurry and hardly as clear as the rest, the photograph showed the faint outline of what appeared to be a large, somewhat translucent sphere. Even though the room itself was dark and almost completely engulfed in shadows, the flash from the camera, along with the dim light from what Rafe could only assume was a flashlight, seemed to make the entire sphere light up like a candle.

The sphere glowed with an almost ethereal hue, shards of light emitting from carefully carved out symbols underneath its surface. Even the pedestal that the sphere was on seemed to be illuminated by what it was holding, and Rafe could see hints of more carvings...and at least one or two traps.

"The Sphere of the Sirens. I had thought this to only be a legend," Rafe finally commented, unable to bring his voice above a whisper.

"So had I," Christian admitted, sounding almost forlorn at the admission. "So you can imagine my excitement when I found out that it was much more than just a myth told by locals to con tourists out of their money."

For a long moment, all Rafe could do was stare at the photograph, as though he could somehow will the sphere into existence simply by focusing on it enough. However, for appearance's sake, he quickly regained his composure and nodded shortly, reluctantly folding the photograph back up and sliding it into its envelope. This one, too, he kept close to him. In fact, Rafe had to resist the urge to pocket the envelope right then and there. Because, low quality photo or not, this was the first, real proof that he'd ever seen of the Sphere of the Sirens.

The mere thought about being able to finally get his hands on the crystalline orb was enough to make Rafe embarrassingly giddy with excitement, and he took a long drink of the wine that had been forgotten since the beginning of his conversation with Mr. Davenport. The smooth, still chilled liquid barely began to soothe Rafe's excitement, but it did give him enough time to get his thoughts in order so as to appear composed and collected.

Which was far more than he could say for Christian. The man hadn't calmed down since handing the photo of the Sphere of Sirens over. In fact, Christian appeared to be more anxious than he had been initially. Before he had introduced himself, even.

"I trust that I have your attention now, Mister Adler?" Christian asked, his voice an odd mix of confident hopefulness.

"You do, indeed," Rafe replied. He gave the other man a level look. "What are you wanting me to do, exactly?"

"Find the Sphere of the Sirens. That photo was taken by someone who is, sadly, no longer with us. I'll spare you the gory details and just leave it at he succumb to some of the silly superstitions surrounding the sphere."

"Ah, yes... That the next woman to catch your eye will spell your demise," Rafe commented with a chuckle.

"You've heard of it?"

"Of course. Everyone who searches for the sphere has heard it. Hence why it's so popular for  _ female _ adventurers. Even the most superstitious of them believe themselves to be immune from whatever power they think the sphere has."

"Well, I hope you're not one that believes in such superstitions."

"Trust me, Mister Davenport, it will take a lot more than the threat of a deadly woman to deter me from such a find as this. As crass as it may sound, it'd take more than an entire army of deadly women to deter me," Rafe proclaimed with a short laugh. The idea of a single woman stopping him from seeking out the Sphere of Sirens was laughable, and an entire army was just downright hilarious.

"Excellent. I'm quite glad to hear that, Mister Adler," Christian stated, obviously pleased with the answer he had been given. "You'd be surprised at how many men declined my offer solely due to superstition."

"While I scoff at their ignorance, I'm not going to deny I am grateful for it, as well," Rafe replied, a smirk playing on his features. "Leaves the sphere for me to obtain."

"Precisely. And I'm prepared to reward you handsomely for the safe delivery of the Sphere of Sirens," Christian added, emphasizing the word 'handsomely'. "And, as I mentioned, I can guarantee that you will have secure passage to and from the ruins."

While Rafe wasn't about to admit that he had no intention of actually handing over such a priceless artifact, there was no reason that he couldn't play along for now. Especially if it got him safe, paid for, travel to and from the ruins. All it would take would be quick 'pit stop' at a local gas station or diner on the way to 'meet' with Mr. Davenport, and then Rafe would fall off the radar. He could then lay low, at the very least, long enough for Mr. Davenport to realize that he should have probably double-checked some of the details about Rafe's personal background to notice that money was hardly a concern. In fact, it was almost insulting to have a price placed on the Sphere of Sirens.

"So... I suppose now, this begs the question. Are you interested in the job, Mister Adler?"

"Let's see if I understand this correctly," Rafe began, tenting his fingers as he leaned back a little in his seat. "You're going to provide me with safe travel to and from these ruins, a guide to the entrance, at least, as well as whatever resources I need to obtain the Sphere of Sirens. And all I have to do is return with the Sphere of Sirens intact and hand it over upon my return?"

"You are correct," Christian affirmed with a nod.

"Well, then, Mister Davenport, I think it's safe to say that you've got yourself the right man for the job," Rafe replied, a smug smile spreading across his expression.

"Words cannot express my gratitude, Mister Adler," Christian said excitedly, rising from his seat and shaking Rafe's hand. "I promise that this will be all worth your while."

"Oh, I'm certain that it will be," Rafe answered, his smile never fading.

Looking up, Christian noticed a waiter approaching the table and gave Rafe a quick nod.

"Well, it seems that your order is on its way, and I would hate to keep you from dinner. Please, keep the business card. It's got my contact information on the back. I can be reached at any time, and as soon as you're ready to embark, just let me know and I'll arrange everything immediately."

With another, quick nod, Christian departed and disappeared into the crowd that was forming at the bar in the middle of the restaurant. Rafe watched them until he couldn't pick them out of the mass of people any more, and turned his attention to the waiter just as the set the food down in front of him.

Whatever irritation at how late his food was had long since been forgotten in the midst of the excitement of being able to finally get his hands on the Sphere of Sirens, and Rafe even extended the goodwill to not berating the waiter for taking an eternity to get the food out to him promptly. He nodded courteously as the waiter apologized profusely and repeatedly, wanting them to simply leave him be for now so that he could enjoy the food and look over the photos that Mr. Davenport had been so gracious to leave behind.

After what seemed like an eternity, the waiter finally left, and Rafe promptly began to eat. His conversation with Mr. Davenport had managed to distract him from his hunger, but now, without the well dressed man present to give any further details about the upcoming trip, Rafe found that he was near ravenous.

Even so, manners dictated that he maintain his appearance, and Rafe slowly began eating, savoring each bite as he pulled the photos out of their envelopes and looked them over. While the photos of the ruins themselves provided a few clues as to what he could expect upon his arrival, it was the one of the Sphere of Sirens that Rafe fixated on. The promise of the tantalizingly beautiful orb was almost too much, and Rafe made a mental note to contact Mr. Davenport first thing in the morning.

Adventure was calling, and Rafe intended to answer.


End file.
